Re: Ivrea is having a summer camp

31 May 2005 - 4:33pm

Last reply:
10 years ago

10 replies

768 reads

Aram Armstrong

2005

Hello Wendy,

I'm a first year student at IDII. I've just been through the Ivrea
experience and I can speak highly of it. So, to your first question:
A) is it any good? Definitely. And B) In particular there are two
areas that have a really strong base here, one is service design (seehttp://www.livework.co.uk/home/research0/glossary.html for
clarification) which is a very broad subject to tackle, so probably not
too relevant to the summer camp, and the other is tangible computing,
which is taught very hands-on and through InstantSoup
(http://instantsoup.interaction-ivrea.it/) can be introduced to
designers pretty quickly and painlessly... not to mention soldering is
fun (not really, but keyboard hacks are)! An entire summer camp
devoted just to that would be great. I'd love to show you the projects
that came out of our last InstantSoup session (amazing craziness) but I
don't know when the documentation will be online. As for C) can't
really talk about it much, but I am looking forward to doing my thesis
work in Milan next year. Anyways, "closing" is the wrong term (moving,
evolving, transitioning, etc.)... we would not be shut down so easily.
Also, if I were to compare master's programs, RCA's CRD and ITP have
more in common with our program than the others you mentioned.

> I've heard of this Master's program in Interaction Design at Ivrea but> don't know anybody who went through it (though gee, two years living> in Italy just sounds swell). I am wondering if a) is it any good b)> what do students think of the program and experience and c) is it> closing?> If somebody asks me about a master's program, I tell them to usually> look at Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, or other assorted HCI/design> programs, depending on their interest.>> -Wendy>> Dan Saffer <dan at odannyboy.com> wrote:>> Interesting Ivrea would still be offering this, since the school has> reportedly stopped accepting applicants and is shutting down...>> Dan

Comments

8 Jun 2005 - 9:34am

Dan Saffer

2003

Happened to see this from John Thackara, who was on the Steering
Committee of Ivrea:

INTERACTION IVREA MORPHING
A brutal policy change by its main sponsor, Telecom Italia, has
forced Interaction Design Institute Ivrea to move to Milan and
effectively merge with Domus Academy. The two organizations describe
the move stoically as "a great opportunity for growth", but the fact
remains that the Ivrea team will be broken up and funding for the
combined entity drastically reduced. Telecom's decision is
short-sighted and represents a stupendous destruction of value: It is
breaking up a hub, five years in the making, for a new community of
practice in a subject area strategically crucial for telecoms.
Interaction Ivrea's end of year show opens Friday 10 June in Turin at
6pm at Via Porta Palatina 15.

So I wonder how this would affect alumnis of Ivrea (esp. for their professional career)???
I personally know of many multimedia/design schools that disappeared very quickly in U.S., Europe, and EastAsia.......should potential students think twice before getting a huge loans to attend a school that might not exist in few years?

my2cents,
ji

8 Jun 2005 - 4:06pm

Wendy Fischer

2004

This also raises the question...should a student enroll at a school that came into existence recently or should they enroll in more established universities/design programs with better endowments, more history and a better chance of survival?? Also with the boom of several years past and the creation of many for-profit design/multimedia schools (though I believe that many established non-profit universities have also tried to cash in on the boom and focused more on revenue than substance), does a student choose a for-profit school as a opposed to a non-profit?

Would the Interaction Institute been more successful in attracting donors had it been aligned early on with a university or established design school?

So I wonder how this would affect alumnis of Ivrea (esp. for their professional career)???
I personally know of many multimedia/design schools that disappeared very quickly in U.S., Europe, and EastAsia.......should potential students think twice before getting a huge loans to attend a school that might not exist in few years?

jk> So I wonder how this would affect alumnis of Ivrea (esp. for their
jk> professional career)??? I personally know of many
jk> multimedia/design schools that disappeared very quickly in U.S.,
jk> Europe, and EastAsia.......should potential students think twice
jk> before getting a huge loans to attend a school that might not
jk> exist in few years?

This honestly scares me. As naive as I am, I sincerely hope that most
people go to good schools (especially graduate) because they expect to
face a challenge, exercise their brains, and learn the right skills
and attitudes. Better schools provide bigger challenges. Those Ivrea
graduates who went there for knowledge and inspiration have nothing to
worry about. They've done their bit, stretched themselves and nothing
and no one could take their learning away from them.

If, however, some are after a golden fig leaf to cover the nakedness
of their brains on a resume... oh well... best of luck, have a nice
life, stay cool and don't forget to buff your nails before your next
interview -- in some places, it matters too.

Before getting a huge loan, potential students should think twice
whether they are after their own long-term personal growth or a
groovy but ephemeral document that means little unless it's nourished
with their sweat. And if you are strong because of who you are, do you
really care about disappearance of a name (nostalgic notes aside)?

Lada

8 Jun 2005 - 10:03pm

Dave Malouf

2005

Lada,

I would like to consider that maybe, just maybe there is some cultural
aspects to this discussion. I don't know about the rest of the world, but I
do know in the US that where you go to school is more than just the
experience of the 2-3 years of studying for your degree. A school enables a
much wider infrastructure than just education. I know my education at Univ.
of Calif., Berkeley stays with me as an institution now close to 15 years
later, and I would expect even more from a graduate level program. If all I
wanted was a piece of paper than I could go anywhere, but if I wanted to
have a lifetime of resources as an alum of a great institution, I would
definitely choose a specific school. I don't know if this thinking only
follows in the US, but I would imagine there are other places where it
follows as well.

>This honestly scares me. As naive as I am, I sincerely hope that most>people go to good schools (especially graduate) because they expect to>face a challenge, exercise their brains, and learn the right skills>and attitudes.

I don't think that the #1 reason either Bush or Kerry went to Yale
was for the challenges. Given the choice, many people will opt for
the better name in education rather than the actual better education.
(Not to saw that Yale doesn't give a challenge to its students, of
course.)
--

When I entered the Interactive Telecommunications Program (one of the first
graduate programs in "the arts" to focus on the emerging interactive/online
new media) at NYU in the fall of 1979, I was asked what my
expectations/success criteria were. My list:

* Facility with "buzzwords in good currency"
* Viable career contacts in the emerging industry
* Professional Credibility (i.e. the graduate degree from the program has
some cachet)

We were the first graduating class of one of the first schools in this
arena: As a group, our collective profile was that of "pioneers" - we had
eclectic backgrounds but all shared some common mystically adventurous
spirit. The future was rich with opportunity and nobody else understood us,
so it was kinda like high school. It was an exceptional, exciting moment in
time: The workscape was undefined, the technology was in flux, *everything*
was a metaphor - we were clearly oddballs in an industry that didn't yet
exist and so we bonded fiercely.

The ITP, as it is known, has changed profoundly over the past 25 years (some
cynics might say "devolved"). In that sense, the graduate program that I
attended no longer exists, but I'm still inordinately proud of the moment
when I was a part of it. All in all, the program fulfilled my expectations.
And I'd have to add another unanticipated criteria to my original list:

* Collegial friendships

I've always enjoyed the educational discipline for the "framing" perspective
that it allows us in our lives - the ability to view ourselves and our
environment as though through the eyes of an alien anthropology team. With
any lick I'll have the professional luxury to go for another round myself
soon.

John

11 Jun 2005 - 11:55am

John Vaughan - ...

2004

Allow me to anticipate any number of clever comments:

"With any lick" ~= "With any luck"

11 Jun 2005 - 2:27pm

Anjali Arora, NYU

2004

> Lada, David, et alia>> When I entered the Interactive Telecommunications Program (one of thefirst

> We were the first graduating class of one of the first schools in this> arena: As a group, our collective profile was that of "pioneers" - we had> eclectic backgrounds but all shared some common mystically adventurous> spirit. The future was rich with opportunity and nobody else understoodus,
> so it was kinda like high school. It was an exceptional, exciting momentin
> time: The workscape was undefined, the technology was in flux,*everything*
> was a metaphor - we were clearly oddballs in an industry that didn't yet> exist and so we bonded fiercely.

Why, hello John and everyone from a very very recent graduate from the same
program ( I graduated last month).

I'm sure the program has changed hugely since 1979, ( I'm not too sure about
the devolution though, I found it a very rich if diffuse program), but every
word of what you say above still rings true: the domain is still undefined,
a lot of us have a hard time making people understand what ITP is about :),
the technology is more so in flux, and the community spirit still abounds.
My two years there have been a frantically-paced, exciting & oft-times
confusing period, & while I am glad it's over, I am very happy I did it.

Are you planning on a PhD program next?
Cheers.
-anjali

> The ITP, as it is known, has changed profoundly over the past 25 years(some
> cynics might say "devolved"). In that sense, the graduate program that I> attended no longer exists, but I'm still inordinately proud of the moment> when I was a part of it. All in all, the program fulfilled myexpectations.
> And I'd have to add another unanticipated criteria to my original list:>> * Collegial friendships>> I've always enjoyed the educational discipline for the "framing"perspective
> that it allows us in our lives - the ability to view ourselves and our> environment as though through the eyes of an alien anthropology team.With
> any lick I'll have the professional luxury to go for another round myself> soon.>> John>>> _______________________________________________> Welcome to the Interaction Design Group!> To post to this list ....... discuss at ixdg.org> (Un)Subscription Options ... http://discuss.ixdg.org/> Announcements List ......... http://subscribe-announce.ixdg.org/> Questions .................. lists at ixdg.org> Home ....................... http://ixdg.org/

11 Jun 2005 - 3:38pm

Wendy Fischer

2004

I enrolled in the first class for the HCI master's program at the School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and IS at DePaul University in 1996. While the program was new, the curriculum was still in a state of flux, coordination with other departments was lacking, I still had the backbone of a major university to to back me up. If the department folded, I am more than sure that I would have had the option of completing my major, designing my own, or switching to a computer science major.

All the participants in the program felt like we were on a new adventure.

However, an established university offers you the chance of networking with other students and alumni, the name recognition of the university, and the accomodation that if the program closes, you have the opportunity to finish it in some form or another at the same university. You still have a sense of continuity of community, even after 25 years.

Interestingly enough, it looks like the Master's degrees at Domus Academy are validated by the Prifysgol Cymru University of Wales. What happens if Domus folds, then you just move to Wales after living in Ivrea and Milan <intended sarcasm>?

When I entered the Interactive Telecommunications Program (one of the first
graduate programs in "the arts" to focus on the emerging interactive/online
new media) at NYU in the fall of 1979, I was asked what my
expectations/success criteria were. My list:

* Facility with "buzzwords in good currency"
* Viable career contacts in the emerging industry
* Professional Credibility (i.e. the graduate degree from the program has
some cachet)

We were the first graduating class of one of the first schools in this
arena: As a group, our collective profile was that of "pioneers" - we had
eclectic backgrounds but all shared some common mystically adventurous
spirit. The future was rich with opportunity and nobody else understood us,
so it was kinda like high school. It was an exceptional, exciting moment in
time: The workscape was undefined, the technology was in flux, *everything*
was a metaphor - we were clearly oddballs in an industry that didn't yet
exist and so we bonded fiercely.

The ITP, as it is known, has changed profoundly over the past 25 years (some
cynics might say "devolved"). In that sense, the graduate program that I
attended no longer exists, but I'm still inordinately proud of the moment
when I was a part of it. All in all, the program fulfilled my expectations.
And I'd have to add another unanticipated criteria to my original list:

* Collegial friendships

I've always enjoyed the educational discipline for the "framing" perspective
that it allows us in our lives - the ability to view ourselves and our
environment as though through the eyes of an alien anthropology team. With
any lick I'll have the professional luxury to go for another round myself
soon.